A Successful Hatch

I wrote earlier about having only two chicks hatch from the batch of 12 Icelandic eggs I set back in May. Apparently this was either the result of the hen having badly soiled the eggs in the nest, after which I tried to clean them, probably making it worse, or perhaps rough handing in the mail, or a combination of both.

In any case my supplier offered to replace the eggs for a second try, and in June I received a large box with a dozen eggs packaged even more carefully than before, each wrapped individually in bubble wrap and separated with cardboard dividers. Happily another hen had just gone broody, so I didn’t have to resort to the incubator I had gotten as a backup. Believe it or not, this hen also soiled a few of the eggs, although not as badly as before. And this time I didn’t try to clean them. (A book I had consulted earlier suggested that, but another book said not to.) Imagine my delight at finding ten healthy chicks on hatch day!

Meanwhile another hen has gone broody and is setting on four guinea eggs. All seems to be going well, so I’m looking forward to guinea keets hatching in another week.

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